Latin
Latin is a language that was in wide use before the starting of the Common Era on Earth (3239 years before the current date). Today, the language is widely unused with the exception of scholarly society, and in fact, a few colonial regions of space actually use Latin as it was used in Ancient Rome. Description Latin was an ancient Italic language that was first spoken before 75 BCE as Old Latin and was used in the Roman Empire. It was used by all parts of the Empire's population in addition to the local tongues in other parts of Europe under Roman control. Though early forms were not seen past the borders of Italy. Latin became much more widespread in the Classical Era when the Empire of Rome was in its height. At around 60 CE throughout to the 3rd Century, Classical Latin (also known as 'good Latin' or 'educated Latin', which was known by the high-class population. Conversely, another class of Latin was known by the common people of the Empire, which was known as Vulgar Latin (Also known as Common Latin). This was everyday speech that was much more widespread than Classical Latin. Vulgar Latin could be seen stretching from Lusitania (Modern day Portugala) to as far as Babylonia (Modern day Iraq), and from Brittania (Modern day England) to as far down as Aegyptus (Modern day Egypt). Latin as a widespread language started to disappear roughly when the Empire did, but thanks to having such a large amount of land within the Roman Empire over many different parts of Europe, Latin began to become splintered and formed into Romantic languages that we start to see today. Latin as a language was replaced with languages like French, Spanish, Portruguese, and Romanian. Even the language of English can owe its existence partially to Latin. Originally though, English was a Germanic language sounding closer to German than what it sounds like today. But in the year 1066, Norman invaders from France occupied England, making the court language French, a language directly related to Latin. Through hundreds of years of meshing, English was we know it today emerged. From the 20th Century, Latin was not spoken in widespread use. By that time it had been considered a dead language as the Empire had long fallen. There has been some indication that the language itself was still being studied as academic names for animals, chemicals, and medical terms use Latin wording. Quotes and mottos are also written in Latin, showing that even though the glory days of Rome was behind it, Latin lingered on. As mankind went to the stars in the 24th Century, knowledge of Latin went with them. Then something interesting happened - Latin saw a resurgance of users after the 26th Century. Planets that were recolonized after the war sought to have a new identity among its speakers. Some believed Latin was a language that represented a strong civilization and one that remembered its history. While English is the currently accepted interstellar trade language, Latin has been trying to make a comeback, but with slow results. As of 3239, There are 50 million active Latin speakers in Human space, a small number compared to the 1.77 trillion total Humans in Known Space. However, Latin is not last in the list for languages spoken. Latin Today Today, one can see examples of Latin being used in things like medical terminology, taxonomy, and in traditional circumstances. For example, some religious ceremonies, usually pertaining to Christianity, are performed in Latin, especially those happening in Rome. Personal mottos, such as the UNSC Marine Corps' "Semper Fidelis" means 'Always Faithful' in Latin. Starships generally have Latin phrases that are placed on them and incorporated into their ship logos. This is a deeply traditional move that has been part of naval tradition since the Romans controlled all of Europe. Species are classified with Latin names that help make them very easy to distinguish. For example, Humans are known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Homo is representative of the genus, and sapiens refers to the species of Human. Another species of Human is the now-exitinct Homo sapiens neanderthal. This does not solely refer to Human races though. Sangheili are given the Latin vernacular Macto cognatus, which translates to 'I honor my father's blood', which is a fitting name. Scientists given new species Latin names all the time. If a species is found on a different planet, locations or the planet name can be worked into the flora or fauna's title. Category:Language